Something has been missing from our recent videos on the new EU drone laws,
what about the fpv self-build hobby where does it fit in amongst the various
airspace and drone types it's the urban fpv drone hobby dead
we've been talking to CAA and the results are interesting stay tuned to
find out more Gee's Verna is your drone channel
providing news reviews price interviews and much more the new EU drone
regulations are pretty explicit when it comes to manufactured drones of the type
of companies like DJI parrot and allied produce however there is very little
discussion of where the fpv race style drone would fit in certainly at the
moment where you would expect to see a DJI maverick drone you could also expect
to see fpv drones either racing taking video or just on a simple rip we've
taken a look at how the new regulations could impact the fpv hobby with direct
answers from the CAA coming up later in the video to see more of our videos on
the new EU drone laws click the link in the description to watch the playlist if
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news first hit the notification bell the only explicit mention of anything beyond
a fully manufacturer drone is within CAA is cap 1789 where when discussing
standards relating to drone production it reads remember these standards only
apply to unmanned aircraft that are intended to be sold in the EU market
either fully assembled or in kit form this along with other sections of the EU
directives themselves leads me to believe that fpv drones will
be subject to the same regulations when purchasing a kit or replacement part of
your fpv drone this could well mean the individual part will be marked with a
clasp type or a warning about which classes it can be used in the
regulations do provide manufacturers with some time allowing aircraft which
do not comply with in classes c02 c4 to continue flying indefinitely in
subcategory a3 far from people however after July 2022 open category aircraft
which are placed on the market will have to be clearly marked with their class
number in the interim period between 2020 and 2022 aircraft where the mass of
two kilograms will be allowed to operate in the subcategory a2
with a maximum distance of 50 meters from people so where will you be able to
fly your fpv drone after the regulations come into effect let's take a look at
the subcategories to see so within open category we have three subcategories a 1
a 2 a 3 in theory an fpv drone could be flown with in all three categories even
if a 1 over people is restricted to 250 grams it would be a pretty light fpv
drone however where the kick enters is within the drone classes which are
separated into c0 to c4 let's take a look at which class you could fly an fpv
within +0 the 250 gram limit here would restrict the type of fpv flown I've seen
a few self builds which have made it under 250 gram limit but certainly you
would not fly most of the standard fpv races within this class plus 1 this
allows craft up to 900 grams and it can be flown with in all three open category
air spaces so here we're doing better however the class also stipulates a
maximum speed of 42.5 miles an hour and that the craft should transmit no more
energy than 80 jewels when colliding with a human head these restrictions
literally go against the science of producing a firm and fast fpv drone so
no joy here class 2 as with class 1 this class requires remote identification and
Geo ons systems although these are not often found on existing fpv drones it
isn't beyond the technical abilities of the community to find a solution to this
however as we'd see run there are requirements for the drone to be built
to minimize the injury to anyone it hits also it will require a button to slow
the craft to 3 meters a second for use when closed to people
although most fpv drones would not be flown that close to fly in this
subcategory you'd still have to have that functionality class c3 drones and
does start to get better but this class of drone can only be operated within
subcategory a3 only which means far from people in any built-up area so this
would still exclude the typical use of fpv drones relaxing in an urban park
also Class C requires the drone to have automated flight control such as return
to home and limiters again often not found on FB v's but not beyond the
community to find a solution this leaves us with class 4 this allows the flight
of pretty much any drone under 20 five kilograms but it is only within the
a3 subcategory far from people and in a non in urban environment so here we
finally have a place to fly our fpv drones so as it stands on the guidance
provided by the CAA cap 1789 you will not be able to fly your fpv drone in an
urban park or anywhere remotely close to people how would this change affects the
hobby for you please let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment we really
appreciate all of our subscribers and viewers and love hearing from you now
before making this video we contacted the CAA to discuss where the fpv drone
community fits within the regulations speaking to their excellent UAV team a
team leader informed us that at present no specific guidance has been passed
down to them regarding the construction and flight of fpv drones within the open
category they were not expecting this information to be released until much
closer to the July 2020 enforcement date however they expected all drones to fall
under the same regulations so that would mean a hard time for both the production
of fpv drones and for where you're able to fly them the fpv community is a huge
part of the droning world and where there has been special mention and
consideration to hobbyists flying RC helicopters and aircraft there has been
little to calm the fears of the fpv hobby we will be keeping you informed of
any more updates which might impact the fpv community including a written
response we've received from the CAA so stay tuned to future videos by
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